Tools

Categories

News Releases

Posted on: September 26, 2016

PPD Officers to Receive Lifesaving Award, New Officers to be Sworn In

Four Pocatello Police officers are being heralded for their efforts in saving the lives of two local residents. Wednesday, September 28 at 3 p.m. in the Pocatello City Council Chambers, Officers Bridget McArthur, Jordan Johnson, Eric Bills, and Sergeant Scott Matson will receive the department’s Lifesaving Award. Johnson and McArthur will receive the commendation after they responded to a home in the 100 block of North Hayes after a report of a female who was unconscious and not breathing. Once on the scene, they found the female had no pulse, and immediately, the officers began to perform CPR with McArthur performing chest compressions while Johnson kept her airway clear. Eventually, the victim’s pulse returned and she began to breathe on her own. Once the victim was conscious, McArthur spoke to the victim, keeping her from slipping back into unconsciousness until paramedics arrived. Bills and Matson are set to be honored after taking measures to save a local man earlier this month. The two officers were dispatched to a home on West Fremont and found a man on the ground with a severe wound to his lower leg. The cut severed an artery and Bills and Matson proceeded to apply a tourniquet. The victim was transported to the hospital where an attending physician relayed that had it not been for their application of the tourniquet, the man would have likely died due to the loss of blood. “If it weren’t for their quick thinking and action, I can say these people would not be with us today,” said Chief Scott Marchand. “Their efforts exemplify what it means to be a member of the Pocatello Police Department and law enforcement worldwide.” Also part of the ceremony will be the swearing in of two new officers, Wes Wheatley and Samantha White. Wheatley and White will take the oath of office and have their badges pinned on them. White completed the Law Enforcement Program at the College of Southern Idaho and has an associate’s degree in Criminal Justice. Meanwhile, Wheatley was born and raised in Pocatello and comes to the department after spending the past eight years working for the Blackfoot Police Department. The award and swearing in ceremony is open to the public.